“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not put Humpty together again.”

In this ad, Humpty Dumpty is in the hospital frustrated with the king’s men patchwork ability and looks into being able to file his medical bills on taxes via the Turbo Tax Intuit app. The appeal for a humorous response was to use a popular nursery rhyme character with real life issues.

The objective of this ad was to bring more awareness to the user-friendly app that includes a tax expert that TurboTax makes accessible when filing your annual tax return.

The target message is aimed at employed individuals who think they cannot file their tax returns. It is not gendered specific and but I think is was sent an underlying message to older adults that are not necessarily tech-savvy. I say that because of the period clothing of Humpty Dumpty and the king’s men. It’s likely not to be age specific, but that was my observation.

The action Turbo Tax wants to the viewer to take is using their software to file annual returns. The value proposition is not clearly stated in this ad but their tagline, “Relax, there’s TurboTax” which eludes that filing your tax return will not be as complicated as one may think.

Mr. Clean – Men Can Clean To

This is by far my favorite commercial, maybe not for the right reasons but it catches and holds your attention (at least the ladies anyway). This video begins with the wife finding a dirty spot on her stove, frustrated in walks the handsome Mr. Clean. He immediately cleans up the mess with some killer dance moves and moves from room to room while keeping the wife completely enthralled. The commercial ends with the wife being overcome with desire Mr. Clean which is actually her husband.

The objective of this ad is to appeal to men that cleaning is a trait that women find extremely attractive (this is TRUE by the way). The technique used to elicit an emotional response was desire and relatability. Desire because the husband “Mr. Clean” was thoroughly cleaning the house, assumingly without being asked, which ignited his wife’s desire for him and relatability because the home dynamics are changing in this generation. Instead of the wife being a stay at home parent, men are now entering into this phase. Or maybe both parents work and cleaning now needs to be a shared responsibility.

The target market is definitely men. The ad’s tagline is, “You gotta love a man that cleans.” Mr. Clean demonstrates how effective the products are in the home and how it could impact your wife. The action the ad wants the viewer to take is buying the many products that Mr. Clean offers.

Mr. Clean Cleaning Supply wants the viewer to buy their line of products, and the value proposition is that it takes less time to clean with the cleaner of your dreams.

Audi – Daughter

This commercial opens up with a father watching his daughter about to compete in a race car derby. The daughter is in a race with nothing but male competitors the dad questions what he tells his daughter about her value in the world. He questions whether he will have to tell that she has less than a man despite all she achieves. The daughter wins the race despite the fierce competition, and as the father and daughter walk to the Audi, he states, “Maybe I will be able to tell her something different.” At the end of the commercial “Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work…Progress is for everyone.”

The objective of this ad is Audi showing their support for the Equal Pay Act to be further enforced. They aren’t selling per se, but they do show one of the new luxury sedans before the commercial ends. This is more so focused on solidarity in the fight for equal pay despite gender.

The really isn’t a set target market, but I think drawing on the emotion of a father and a daughter would be aimed at women. How a father sees his daughter can impact a woman for a lifetime.

The value proposition would be that Audi is loyal to standing up for women’s rights

Alfa Romeo – Riding Dragons

The Alfa Romeo commercial begins discussing the aspirations “we” had as children, our dreams, and what “we” believed to be true. The focus of this ad how imaginative and hopeful we were as children while highlighting to the sleek new 2017 sedan from Alfa Romeo. The emotion this ad wanted to provoke was nostalgia.

The objective and the value proposition of this campaign were to get you to remember your dreams as a kid and remind you that they could still come true. Driving an Alfa Romeo could be one of those dreams coming true.

The target market is definitely gear toward those who love foreign cars or even those who are into luxury sports cars.

Febreze – Bathroom Break

To eliminate or not eliminate that is the question when watching a very important game. The Febreze commercial opens up with women running to the restroom and explaining how she enjoys the “half-time bathroom break.” The narrator informs the viewer that, “New Febreze with clear odor technology can eliminate the bathroom break smell like never before.”

The objectives of this ad are to inform the viewer of the new product they have on the market, and it’s just in time for Super Bowl festivities.

Febreze the desired action is for the viewer to stock up their new products before the big game so that can be prepared for “half-time bathroom breaks.” The value proposition for the viewer is we have all had our fair share of smelly bathrooms when company comes to visit or visiting someone else’s house so to be able to eliminate nasty smells it can create a blissful experience.

Motels are defined as an establishment which provides lodging and parking, in which the rooms are usually accessible from the outdoor parking area (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, 2003). Motels are typically more economical and focus on functionality instead of luxury accommodations.

The emphasis of this ad is to appeal to those traveling on a budget and booking a room via their new and improved website. Motel 6 proposes that booking your room on their website can be faster than trying to find your keys. The appeal to relate booking a room and finding your keys yields a humorous response because we all have struggled to find our keys, which can take an exorbitant amount of time. In the radio ad, Tom Boddett mentions how we can land on the moon but can’t seem to keep up with our keys, which in truth we’ve probably all thought this very same point or something similar. Trying to find your keys especially when you are running late is frustrating, similar to trying to find an inexpensive room with your desired amenities and looking through several travel websites with all the pop-ups.

The objective of the campaign was to educate the customer of their new user-friendly website. This ad is mainly informational. Motel 6 did not promote any occupancy rates or services they provide. They simply wanted customers to check out the website to book in the future.

Motel 6’s target market is the average traveler looking for low-cost and easy to book travel stay.

The ad wants to the listener to visit their website to view economic rooms and with a user-friendly way of booking and staying at one of their locations. If the customer chooses to book through their website they can save time and money on travel stay.

For their value proposition, Motel 6 equates trying to find your keys akin to trying to find an inexpensive room, and they reiterate that their website has made it easier and faster for travel and stay needs.

Coca-Cola – Summer ad

Coca-Cola was founded on January 29, 1882, in Georgia

Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and nearly 3,900 beverage choices. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands and the world’s largest beverage distribution system. (Coca-Cola, 2017).

The emphasis of this ad is to appeal to the nostalgia of summer’s fun-filled days. Thirst alludes to one’s desires to be filled or satisfied. The sounds of waves, frolicking on the beach, and just all around good times suggests to that fact that Coca-Cola is somehow always there. Even as I type this, I imagine myself on a beach squishing sand in between my toes. I absolutely love the beach so picking this particular ad just made me yearn for summer beach days even more. I would consider the emotional response for this ad to be cognitive. It draws upon fond memories of the beach and being thirsty on a hot summer day is a fact, and Coca-Cola wants to be a solution.

Coca-Cola objectives were to play your cognitive emotions and to sell more of their beverages. Also to inform customers that Cola-Cola wants to apart of the summer fun.

The target market is those who love the beach and are either at the beach or heading there soon. The target is not focused on a particular age or gender just the frequent beach goer.

Coca-Cola wants the listener to buy more Coca-Cola with the promise of a better experience after purchase.

Coca-Cola value proposition is that it considers itself the go-to drink to have fun and be happy. The specific reasons to buy its beverages is to in fact quench one’s thirst.

Lipton Green Tea – Mmm ad

Tea has been around for hundreds of years with origins from China and was used in the aristocratic society. However, Sir Thomas Lipton imported tea in 1889 with the dream of turning it into a drink of the people by making it affordable for everyone. Sir Thomas bought tea fields all around the world to cut production and import costs and began selling teas at an affordable price (Lipton, 2017).

The emphasis and objective of this ad are to reiterate that Lipton’s Green Tea is not just delicious to one kind of age group, culture, country, or out this world, they are confident that in their tag line “not just good for you but good to you.” Lipton’s Green Tea emotional response and target market are that of inclusion; it’s for everyone.

The action that Lipton wants the listener to take is to either continue buying Lipton’s Green Tea or simply give a try.

Lipton’s value proposition is essentially their tagline, “Not just good for you, but good to you.”

Tic – Tac “Shake it Up” ad

It was in 1969 that Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. first opened for business in New York City. To introduce the Ferrero story in the vast and unique U.S. market, Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. the smallest Ferrero wonder of all – Tic Tac mints (Ferrero, 2017).

The emphasis and objective of this ad promote the familiarity and wide range of flavors that this product offers. Tic Tac wants the listeners to know that they still sell their original flavors while also promoting their new ones. These objectives were attainable and were not time specific with limited editions.

The target market for this ad is current customers, men, and women who had either previously enjoyed Tic Tacs, or customers who had never tried them before.

Tic Tac wants the listener to try their new refreshing flavors or purchase their tried and true original flavors. The specific reasons a customer would want to buy Tic Tac is they either enjoy the many flavors the company already offers or they are curious about the new flavors and are willing to buy.

Samsung Galaxy S ad

The Samsung Galaxy S series has been one of the top-selling smartphones within the industry for a long time. Constantly rivaling with iPhone mobile devices, Samsung has been able to remain viable and at times exceed its competitor’s sales. Samsung is the most popular Android phone maker, by far (Digital Trends, 2013). The emotional response to the Galaxy S is anticipation, joy, and sentiment.

The objectives of this campaign were to thrill the listener to buy with words like, “determination, vivid colors, or sparkle,” which are all power words that provoke a certain imaginary while using the phrase, “If you could see what I see.” Encouraging the listener that the quality and clarity of the Galaxy S provide is something the listener must have. Appealing the listener with all amenities that the smartphone has to offer within the phone and its related services i.e. apps. The objectives were attainable by offering an up to date model with better quality in photos, videos, games, and apps. This ad was not time specific.

The target market is for the thrill seeker, photographer, blogger, gamer, or just an average male or female millennial.

The action in which Samsung wants the listener to take is purchasing the phone.

Samsung Galaxy value proposition is that this phone is the superior choice in mobile devices. It yields better quality, better clarity, which equals a better phone.

Imagine being at a very important track meet. You and your teammates have been practicing for months. You’ve even gone the extra mile before and after practice pushing yourself to beat your personal best. You’ve studied your competition and identified where you could maximize upon their weaknesses. To say the least, you are ready to win. You line up on your mark when all a sudden the official comes to you and fellow competitors and says that all of you, except for one, have to move back several paces from the starting line. You’re instinctually agitated. Why does only one person get to remain on the starting line? Nevertheless, you all decide to proceed with race because everyone has worked really hard to get to this point. You all line up once again, on the new starting line and try to focus on winning the race as much as possible. On your mark, get set, GO! The gun sounds off and off you go, giving it everything you got. Your heart is racing, and all you can think about is catching up to the guy that did not have to move back. You are in the lead of the group that got moved back but up ahead you see the guy crossing the finish line and winning the race. You finish the race defeated, knowing that if you started on the original line, you would have had a better chance at winning.

In a previous post, I spoke about how technological innovation has impacted the African American worker the most because historically we have always been a few paces behind in the workforce. However, in the past thirty years, there has emerged a new underdog, the middle class. With new technologies growing and displacing employees, the idea of the “American Dream” is all but diminishing for the majority of the population. In the “The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era.” Jeremy Rifkin states, the middle class once a signature of American prosperity, is fast fading, with ominous consequences for the future political stability of the nation (Rifkin, 1995 p.173). The fact remains the richer are getting richer and the poor, poorer. We all benefit from new technologies in our everyday lives, but corporate execs benefit the most.

Growing up my parents really pushed education. Matter of fact, education was bible. Go to school, get a great paying job, and you will have a better life. My parents weren’t the only education “preachers,” my teachers, the television, and everyone else I knew preached the same message. They all spoke about how I would have more options with the completion of higher education. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case. Rifkin further expounds by saying, the college educated make up the bulk of middle management-level positions in the American economy, and it is these jobs that are being wiped out by new technology advances and re-engineering practices. More than 35 percent of recent (which has increased since the book was written) graduates have been forced to take jobs that don’t require a degree (Rifkin, 1995 p. 172). I was a hopeful graduate thinking I wasn’t going to be in that percentile because I studied hard and I was prepared. However, just like my analogy, I was behind the original starting line.

Regrettably, the higher wages are only being distributed amongst upper management, while the workers get minimum wages with higher living costs. While average workers and middle management have seen position pay get lowered or just meeting the market rate for positions, CEO wages have grown exponentially because of automation. Knowledge workers are the only ones that have been able to weather the storm of restructuring. Rifkin sites that, knowledge workers are a diverse group united by their use of state-of-the-art information technology to identify, process, and solve problems. They are creators, manipulators, and purveyors of the global economy. Their ranks include research scientists, design engineers, software analysts, biotechnology researchers, public relation specialists, lawyers, investment bankers, management consultants, financial and tax consultants, architects, strategic planners, marketing specialists, film producers, and editors, art directors, publishers, writers, editors, and journalists (Rifkin, 1995 p. 174).

Up till now, the knowledge sector has had limited risk, but because of over saturation and technology, workers have an increasing chance of being displaced. Salaries are a huge expenditure for companies, and many are working on skeletons crews because upper management will not fill much-needed positions. Additionally, a lot of knowledge related services can be facilitated via the internet with little to no human interaction. Think about Turbo Tax and Quick Books and how they have significantly cut into tax and accounting industries in the last couple of years. Ultimately, no one is safe.

In my first blog post, I asked the question, has technological innovation become such an insatiable beast that we cannot foretell how it will impact the labor force for generations to come? After reading this book, I believe we are in jeopardy because we have depleted so many jobs due to automation. I also discussed the trickle-down effect that corporations promise with restructuring, which consequently does not absorb all or majority of who have been displaced. Technology is not the only culprit but also society as a whole. Going back to my analogy, how can future generations win when they are behind the original starting line? Gone are the days when the person beside you is your only competition, technology has now become the ultimate competitor.